What should I feed ducks?

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raising ducks
Image by elycefeliz
Nobody here this morning but the ducks . . .

communitypress.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20110314/NEWS01/…

The Ohio River crested at 55.9 feet Sunday at 9 p.m., but will stay above flood stage until Friday. Flood stage at Cincinnati is 52 feet.

communitypress.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20110313/NEWS01/…

The Ohio will begin inching back Tuesday night, and receding waters should be noticeable by mid-day Wednesday. But the river’s not expected to return to below flood stage until Friday.

Question by MissLegacy: What should I feed ducks?
I take my kids to the park to feed the ducks bread.I always seen people feed them bread so I did the same, but a friend told me it’s really bad for them..is true..if so what should i give them?
I live in the city…some parks do let you feed them but some dont.

Can you help? Leave your own answer in the comments!

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11 Responses to What should I feed ducks?

  1. sunflower seeds or cold veggie pieces.

    blinkingsupastar
    March 17, 2014 at 6:51 pm
    Reply

  2. At our local zoo they have gumball dispenser type machines near a large duck pond that contains dried corn for people to feed to them, so dried corn is likely a safe bet.

    Dustin B
    March 17, 2014 at 7:22 pm
    Reply

  3. Nothing and probably illegal.
    Ducks do not have to be fed as they are quite capable of feeding themselves.
    Feeding them only adds to excessive poop on the grass for the rest of us to step on.
    Some parks, like Drakes Creek, had to finally capture and truck away the excessive numbers that gathered waiting to be fed!

    Ed F
    March 17, 2014 at 7:25 pm
    Reply

  4. Corn is good to feed them, we live near a river and we get ducks in our yard quite a bit, we always feed them corn

    Cherokee
    March 17, 2014 at 8:18 pm
    Reply

  5. It’s not so much that bread is BAD for ducks, more that it has no nutritional value at all for them.

    As long as the bread is in the water (or they drink water afterwards) it’s not too much of a problem

    cal_mattesdon
    March 17, 2014 at 8:27 pm
    Reply

  6. Rice! No Avocados! Just joking that would kill them. I have raised ducks many times. Oatmeal is great they love it and it is good for them. I always kept the big box of crystal wedding oats and just went out and spread it on the ground you can also feed them corn but in a city it would be hard to keep a 100 pound bag of corn around I guess. Our ducks always love catfish pellets too. Hope this helps.

    bbbv10
    March 17, 2014 at 8:59 pm
    Reply

  7. Bread is fine,

    Yoko Kurama
    March 17, 2014 at 9:18 pm
    Reply

  8. I feed my ducks whole yellow corn and they love it.

    Pigeonboy
    March 17, 2014 at 10:09 pm
    Reply

  9. Their wild diet is best for them. When people feed them bread and junk like that, they eat less of the good natural food they should be eating. Also, the yeast, sugar, and salt in bread are not good for them. Some people think that feeding whole wheat bread is better, but it still contains the afore mentioned ingredients. So, no bread.
    The parks that don’t allow you to feed ducks and geese are generally the parks that learned the hard way (about the tons of crap and the mass amounts of fowl descending on the park due to people making food too plentiful) and are trying to rectify the problem.

    Feeding ducks is hardly a kindness to the ducks if the parks end up having to net them and cart them away. Sounds a little stressful on the poor ducks.
    Best to let wild ducks be wild ducks… They’ll still come to the park so you and your children can watch them.

    RAV
    March 17, 2014 at 10:21 pm
    Reply

  10. Your friend was absolutly correct.
    You can give them some lettuce and grapes. Or if you visit the park often you could purchase some flock raiser from your local Tack and Feed store and feed them that every time you go.

    PERFECT POMS *praying for loki*
    March 17, 2014 at 11:05 pm
    Reply

  11. Bread is NOT the bad stuff that everyone will tell you but it has empty calories and has no nutritional value for the ducks.

    I feed my ducks Scratch (mixed grains) but I wouldn’t recommend feeding ducks grains unless you are willing to just throw it out on the ground. . . to hand feed “city ducks” might get you nipped by the duck.The duck nipping probably won’t draw blood but it does smart a bit and likely to discourage kids.

    I supplement my duck’s feed with diced up veggies/fruits.

    Prior to taking the kids to feed the ducks,look through your refrigerator and find those things sitting there that could possibly be replaced such as apples,grapes,celery,lettuce,cabbage etc and dice them up in a bowl that you can take with you to the park. (I also chop up pototoes. . peel and all)
    IF you got it in you,you could go to Wal Mart and buy 2 containers of night crawlers to dice and put in with the veggies or even by themselves.

    With this mixture of feed you and the kids are bound to have all of the ducks at your feet. And though you will probably not want to hand feed them,the fun of giggling and talking while diceing up the veggies/fruits/worms,the kids will probably not miss being to hand feed them.

    Good Luck and Have Fun making memories

    Just Q
    March 17, 2014 at 11:45 pm
    Reply

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